Inquest jury to offer recommendations on how to prevent deaths like Jordan Lafond's

A six-person jury is now tasked with recommending how deaths like that of Jordan Lafond can be prevented in the future.

The jurors listened to evidence during a four-day inquest into the death of Lafond, a 22-year-old father who died in hospital after the truck he was in crashed into a fence on Saskatoon's western outskirts in October 2016.

The collision capped an eight-minute chase by members of the Saskatoon Police Service. Police had been concerned about a report of a high-powered firearm inside the truck.

Source of lethal head trauma unknown

The six jurors — five women and one man — were charged Thursday afternoon with suggesting how deaths similar to Lafond's could be avoided.

Lafond died of blunt force trauma to his head, with the impact of the crash likely being a significant factor in his death, court heard Thursday.

• Saskatoon police officer testifies Jordan Lafond didn't move during arrest
• 'He didn't look good': Police officer who kneed Jordan Lafond testifies at coroner's inquest

But the exact source of that lethal force could not be confirmed, according to Dr. Shaun Ladham, the province's chief forensic pathologist.

The truck had run over a fence and been impacted by a pole. No biological matter was found on the pole, nor was there any corresponding protrusion on Lafond's head.  

Lafond was ejected from the vehicle and landed on the fence, ultimately resting partly under the rear of the truck.

But a police officer testified he later kneed Lafond in the head up to four times because he believed Lafond was resisting arrest, while another officer attempted to handcuff Lafond. The officer admitted in court he applied an unusually high degree of force.

"There isn't any difference that we can say," said Ladham of the two types of impact. "There are injuries that we can see in a motor vehicle accident, but we can see the same things from someone in a fist fight."

'Hear the truth come out' 

The Saskatoon Police Service had notified the coroner's office that it believed police force was a factor in the incident, which spurred the autopsy on Nov. 2, 2016, more than a week after Lafond died. 

The fact that Lafond had already been embalmed by the time Ladham examined him did not hinder the autopsy overall, but did complicate toxicology testing, the pathologist said.

Lafond's mother, Charmaine Dreaver, was in court Thursday for the coroner's lengthy charge to the jury.

She arrived with a large blow-up portrait of her son festooned and framed with blue ribbons.

In the photo, Lafond, dressed in a cap and Blue Jays shirt, held his daughter, Brailee, who is now four years old.

During a break in the coroner's summary of this week's evidence, Dreaver exited the courtroom, breathing a heavy sigh.

"It's good to hear the truth come out," she said of this week's inquest.

The jury went home late Thursday afternoon and will begin its deliberations Friday morning at 9:30 a.m.